Poll - do you leave a cash balance in your paypal account?

derryb

My experience over the years with paypal accounts has taught me one thing: never leave a dollar balance in the account. Account holders need to realize that it is not the same as a bank account. The major difference is that paypal has the power to freeze it or award it to someone else who lays claim to it, whether that claim is justified or not. The risks of keeping cash in a paypal account are greater than keeping the cash in a bank account. The only advantage of keeping cash in the paypal account is that it can be immediately transferred by you to someone else. Sending money using a credit card, through paypal, gets the same results and is much safer.

My recent advice to a family member establishing a paypal account to sell and buy on ebay:
(1) Use a credit card (CC) for all purchases involving paypal. It gives you the added protection of reversing charges on a purchase gone bad. When using a CC for paypal purchases paypal will first apply cash in the paypal account towards the purchase and then apply what is left to the CC. Be sure to transfer any cash balcance in the paypal account to your bank before using the credit card to send money. To use the CC to make a payment simply "change" your payment method to the CC during paypal checkout. If you do not see the CC option it is probably because you have a cash balance in the paypal account. To correct this simply open another browser window, go to paypal and transfer the cash balance to your bank account. You may have to start over with the paypal payment process once you have removed your paypal balance.
(2) Keep a zero balance in the paypal account. After an ebay sale and after printing and paying postage through paypal, immediately transfer any remaining balance to your bank account. This usually takes a couple of days to complete, but the paypal account effectively has a zero balance when the transfer is initiated, allowing a buyer to immediately make another purchase using the CC to pay in full.

A paypal account holder that takes advantage of the added protection of using a credit card for all paypal payments has no reason to be leaving a cash balance in the paypal account. Purchases using credit cards will normally show up as immediate payments "with OK to ship" in the seller's paypal account. Occasionally paypal will spot check CC payments and create a 3-4 day money transfer period (“payment pending”) before the seller will see the funds show up in his paypal account. This may cause a seller to understandably delay shipping until the payment process is complete. This is more likely to occur when large dollar amounts are involved. I do numerous large dollar purchases using a CC with paypal and rarely see this delay occur.

SaorAlba

Trust payPoo like the plague.

Pokermandude

As a Canadian who uses US$ to buy on Ebay frequently, I generally withdraw any Canadian dollar balance above a couple hundred dollars immediately, but leave all US$ in my account. Paypal won't let Canadians link a US$ bank account or US$ credit card to their PP account. So we're forced to either pay the 2.5% conversion juice when withdrawing US$ to our Canadian$ accounts, and then when buying something in US$, pay that 2.5% again when using our Canadian$ to pay for it.

So we're stuck between either leaving US$ in our accounts and the real possibility of what you mention in your post, or paying 5% to "insure" that we don't get burnt that way. To me the risk is worth less than 5%, so I leave all the US dollars in my PP account. Those dollars tend not to last long as I usually spend US$ faster than the US$ I have coming into my PP account.

Classof67

Never leave it in there.

tydye

I usually try to use as soon as it comes in. Any monthly bills I can pay via cc to take advantage of the 1 percent back. Rest I withdraw

grip

I leave it there...heck it's only a few Mill.

DrBuster

I don't use it anymore, but absolutely no balance ever, thieves.

johnny9434

i never liked leaving cash with paypuke. there worse then the banksters far as im concerned

piecesofme

i never liked leaving cash with paypuke. there worse then the banksters far as im concerned

Funny how some say this but they wont take advanatge of the gift option to pay. I look at it this way. If Paypal is giving me the option to use gift, and it's going to someone I know I can trust, I use it.

As for the matter of leaving any funds in there for more than about 15 seconds...I think you have your answer.

Wingsrule

Don't sell much, so it stays there until I spend it.

DoubleEagle59

I leave up to 2K in the Paypal account.

Any amount over that and it's transferred to the bank account.

jmski52

This is a timely thread. After you transfer your PayPal balance to your bank account, can PayPal take money back out of your bank account if the accounts are linked?

nibanny

<< <i>This is a timely thread. After you transfer your PayPal balance to your bank account, can PayPal take money back out of your bank account if the accounts are linked? >>



They can't.
But your account will show a negative balance and you won't be able to make any purchase until you make it even.

derryb

<< <i>This is a timely thread. After you transfer your PayPal balance, can PayPal take money back out of your bank account if they are linked? >>


current members have not authorized them to do so unless they "agreed" to a recent change to their paypal policy authorizing paypal to recover money from the bank account in the event of a negative paypal balance (usually due to losing a claim). I did not agree to that request when it recently popped up automatically when I logged into ebay. I have not seen it since. New ebay/paypal members may be agreeing to it in an updated version of the user agreement.

For those that worry about paypal getting their fingers into a bank account, either legally or illegally, the solution is to have a bank account for ebay/paypal purposes, transfer all paypal account cash into that bank account and then transfer from the bank account into a second account that is with the same bank. Transferring from first bank account to second bank account can easily be done online if both accounts are with the same bank. Be sure first bank account has a low required minimum deposit. My credit union checking account requires a min. $5 balance. The most that paypal can possibly take from my bank account is $5.

I also advise to have more than one paypal and more than one ebay account, usually in the wife's name in the event you have to abandon the account because of disagreement with ebay/paypal or the account gets hijacked and you have to shut it down. In the online marketing business I have learned to always have a backup plan in place ready for use.

nibanny

Back to the Poll, I usually sell whenever I need cash, so my money gets transferred immediately.
I may leave there a couple of hundreds bucks if I plan to shop on eBay soon.

BAJJERFAN

Once in awhile I may leave a couple bucks in if for a few days or so, but usually I yerk it out mucho fasto. Also, I have no qualms about using PP gift with the right folks, but I don't use it for amounts that would garner attention.

indiananationals

i have kept an average of $3500.00-$4000.00 in mine for the past few years if u get a chargeback on ur account just cause u pulled the money wont save u they will turn u into collection agencies and ruin ur credit rating i have learned if the item is high dollar try and only sell to people u know and always send with signature confirmation that way some scumbag cant say it was delivered to the wrong place cause i got ur signature as long as u get that u have proof that at least they got it on the other hand they can always claim the package was empty ........pretty much only sell what u can afford to lose to the pukes and sell the good stuff thru forums like this with people u trust

Spooly

I hate paypal.......... but it's a necessary evil.

jmski52

always send with signature confirmation

and Insured.

TwoSides2aCoin

I take pay pal charges on my phone and spend money on my pay pal card for the business.. If I transfer the funds to the account , it means business sucks in the shop. And it usually sucks in the shop. Been buying Australian Dollars. I visited a couple years ago and it was over $1.05 plus fees on the exchange. I bought some through PayPal recently and I believe it was below $.90.
It's just another bank account. That is all. It was great when they had a money market account that paid a whopping 5%. Those were the early days. It's never a bad idea to have two hen houses. (bank accounts) I also exchange currency into pounds, canadian dollars and Euros. In the event I decide to vacation, that card will be useful without too much hassle in those countries regarding "exchange" fees.

Just my position. Others may see different.

OPA

I'm just not paranoid enough, and having sold or bought on eBay for 13 years, to loose any sleep over whether PayPal is going to grab my money. I leave it in for a month & then transfer 80% of my funds to my checking account. The remaining 20% is used for purchases.

derryb

I have no need to leave money in the paypal account. All of my purchases are via a CC that pays rewards. Buying bullion adds up to a lot of rewards. Just got this month's check from Visa for $250.

jmb

<< <i>I hate paypal.......... but it's a necessary evil. >>



I haven't used paypal OR ebay in almost 5 years. Checks, money orders, cash sent registered mail, credit cards, wire transfer. There are plenty of other options.

ricko

Not much, depends on the last buy.... do not consider it a bank - although those that run it, likely do. Cheers, RickO

piecesofme

and Insured

As I understand it, USPS no longer insures bullion if the package goes MIA, You'd have to lie, and get the receiver of the package to lie too about what was in the package to file a claim.

derryb

<< <i>and Insured

As I understand it, USPS no longer insures bullion if the package goes MIA, You'd have to lie, and get the receiver of the package to lie too about what was in the package to file a claim. >>


Last time I checked bullion can be insured and covered when sent Registered USPS. Haven't checked today.

piecesofme

I believe you are correct derryb. Bullion can only be Insured if sent using Registered if using USPS. What does that tell you about the Postal Service. They don't even trust their own employees unless every person touching the package has to sign for it. Sad!
I dont know the policy of FedEx or UPS.

derryb

<< <i>I believe you are correct derryb. Bullion can only be Insured if sent using Registered if using USPS. What does that tell you about the Postal Service. They don't even trust their own employees unless every person touching the package has to sign for it. Sad!
I dont know the policy of FedEx or UPS. >>


I believe most of the big dealers that use FedEx and UPS have their own private insurance and some of those insurance carriers require expedited shipping to reduce amount of time in transit.

Spooly

The best way to rob a bank is to own it.

yellowkid

If it's, for me, a sizeable amount, I transfer it to the bank. By the by, after years of dealing with the clowns at PP I received a notice that they want a copy of my drivers license.

jmski52

after years of dealing with the clowns at PP I received a notice that they want a copy of my drivers license

Can't they just ask NSA for a copy and leave you alone?

yellowkid

<< <i>after years of dealing with the clowns at PP I received a notice that they want a copy of my drivers license

Can't they just ask NSA for a copy and leave you alone? >>



And there's not just the NSA, there are 15 more intelligence gathering agencies. Do you know how many black SUV's that represents?

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>and Insured

As I understand it, USPS no longer insures bullion if the package goes MIA, You'd have to lie, and get the receiver of the package to lie too about what was in the package to file a claim. >>



They do insure it. They probably just refuse to pay the claim.

Three

<< <i>

<< <i>I hate paypal.......... but it's a necessary evil. >>



I haven't used paypal OR ebay in almost 5 years. Checks, money orders, cash sent registered mail, credit cards, wire transfer. There are plenty of other options. >>



This the way to go. But then you have e-bay delivery concerns, i.e, lost mail, poor condition, yadda yadda. The local coin shop or coin show...cash & carry. no fuss no muss.

TwoSides2aCoin

In reality, it never was cash in there. The cash went in a package to someone using electronic balances to convince me it's okay to send the real money.